China Mobile and Apple 'tie the knot'

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple and Xi Guohua, chairman of China Mobile jointly attend a press event on Jan 15, 2014 in Beijing. [Shen Jingting / chinadaily.com.cn]

Bryan Wang, principal analyst with Forrester Market Advisory (Beijing) Co Ltd, said the most likely target for Apple and China Mobile's further cooperation falls on tablet computers.

"China Mobile has about 65,000 points of sale across China, which will act as a great platform for Apple selling iPad products," Wang said.

In addition, wearable devices, such as the rumored iWatch developed by Apple, will help China Mobile extend customer relationships beyond one device. Wang said diverse Apple hardware could assist China Mobile to lift customer "stickiness" by offering multiple mobile touch points.

Apple was the fifth-largest smartphone vendor in the Chinese market in the third quarter of 2013, with a market share of 5.8 percent, according to a report from International Data Corp (IDC).

Its share followed South Korean company Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (19.3 percent), Lenovo Group Co Ltd (11.8 percent), Yulong Telecommunication Ltd (maker of Coolpad) (11.7 percent) and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (8.6 percent) during the same period.

On Wednesday's meeting, Cook also said Apple will reach more customers in third- and fourth-tier cities in China.

"China Mobile already has a presence in many cities that Apple does not have. So yes, Apple will go into more and more cities, and China Mobile's distribution network will be an enormous asset to us," Cook said.

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